Cardinals Jose Martinez continues to impress: Waiver wire add?

Jose Martinez is on fire at the plate right now for the Cardinals and is one of the team’s bright spots this season. But, is the journeyman worth a waiver wire add?

Every MLB season there are always cases of players that come from somewhat obscurity to surprise. The Cardinals’ Jose Martinez is one of those cases as he has performed great during his time with the club. But, can he be trusted as a waiver wire add moving forward?

Jose Martinez signed with the Orioles all the way back in 2007 as a 17-year-old. Since then, he has bounced around to five different organizations and has spent eleven years in the minors.  After coming to the Cardinals in 2016, he finally made his debut last season and hit a cool .438 even though it was over only 18 at-bats.

Entering the 2017 season,  Martine did not have a starting role with the club but did make the team out of the spring. As a corner outfielder and first baseman, he has appeared in 86 games this season while amassing 228 plate appearances. He has amassed a .310/13 HR/34 RBI/.945 OPS line, providing a much-needed spark to a team that was devoid of any for most of the season.

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The only thing that was holding Martinez’s fantasy value back was his part-time role as he was blocked in the outfield and at first.

But, now that Jedd Gyorko is nursing a sore hamstring and could miss the rest of the year, Matt Carpenter will slide back over to the hot corner. This opens up a path for consistent time for Martinez, and his current hot streak makes it all the better.

Over the last two weeks, Martinez has posted a .500/3 HR/6 RBI/8 R/1.538 OPS line. He is currently swatting XBH at will, highlighted by his two homer performance against the Padres on Sep. 5.

Looking deeper into his batted ball data, even if it is limited, Martinez is keeping his contact oriented approach up, yet rather than posting a near 50% GB rate, he is posting  25% LD, 31% FB, and 44% Med and 38% Hard contact rates. With his 6’6 frame, it is a welcome shift in his approach compared to his minor league resume.

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Jose Martinez can not get anymore locked in and has the batted ball profile to substantiate his success this season. Even if he is just a flash in the pan, fantasy owners should be willing to take the gamble and add him down the stretch while he has a clear path to at-bats.